


Princesses and Peasants

by fluffy__jeong



Series: universe [2]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: 159cm, F/F, Fanfiction, Fluff, Forests, Gay, M/M, Peasants, Princesses, Sligthangst, dispatch - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23051647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy__jeong/pseuds/fluffy__jeong
Summary: Mina and Chaeyoung had a very rough relationship ever since they met. They consistently insult each other and bicker over things. Things stay that way until Mina, the princess of Edo goes missing after she runs away from the palace, leaving the knights, and the peasant, Chaeyoung to find her."Maybe getting stuck in the forest with you isn't so bad."
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Yoo Jeongyeon, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Series: universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657597
Comments: 3
Kudos: 158





	1. stuck with this bitch

**Author's Note:**

> songs for this chapter:
> 
> >enchanted-taylor swift  
> >nana-the 1975  
> >love is not over-bts  
> >lost-bts

—————————

"MOM! CHAEYOUNG STOLE MY MR. TEDDY AGAIN!"

"NO I DIDN'T! IT'S MINE!" The two little girls angrily tugged on the poor teddy bear, like it was the rope for Tug of War.

The golden door opened. The two adults checked on the two fighting girls in the playroom. They all chuckled a bit at the two little girls, well, this happened all the time in their palace.

"Okay okay kids, enough with torturing Mr. Teddy." The Empress took the teddy bear away from the two kids, both of which, glared at her.

"I can't believed they're fighting again because of this." The maid, Chaeyoung's mom, muttered to the Queen.

"Okay you two, you guys don't have to fight. Mina, what did I tell you about what's yours and what's not yours?"

"BUT IT'S MINE!" The little Japanese girl squeaked with her hands pointing at the bear.

"NO IT'S NOT! YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME WHILE I WAS PLAYING!" Chaeyoung argued. The empress redirected her eyes to her daughter, who started to quiver in either anger or frustration, or both.

"Mina, is that true?" The little Japanese girl started pouting and huffing with her arms crossed.

"Mina?"

"ITS MINE!" Unexpectedly, Mina tugged on the bear's head so forcefully that the head tore off, with all of its cotton stuffing falling all over the place. The two kids looked mortified at the fallen head of the decapitated teddy bear.

"MR TEDDY!" Chaeyoung ran to the decapitated teddy bear. There were tears falling from her eyes. The other girl was frozen, still mortified at what she has done.

Chaeyoung cradled the fallen teddy bear head, glaring at the older girl with tears welling up in her eyes.

"MINA, YOU'RE GROUNDED!"

_and that's how she came to hate her_

—————————

"Tomorrow we'll be discussing about astronomy, your majesty. Make sure you read your notes." The scholar bowed down to the elegant princess who reciprocated the gesture.

"Thank you very much for this lecture, lecturer Hinata. I will see you again tomorrow." The two people exchanged goodbyes before Mina left the room, with her books in her arms. The elegant princess was greeted with the fresh spring breeze of the garden inside of the palace.

"Good afternoon, your majesty." A female maid bowed and greeted her, the princess reciprocated the gesture.

"Good afternoon." She smiled while she continued to walk to the direction where her room is located.

"Good afternoon, your majesty." A male guard on duty greeted her and she greeted him back.

"Good afternoon to you too." Mina was a highly respected princess in this palace. People greeted her with full respect and they truly adore her for her humility and intellect, well, since that's what they mostly see on the surface. But most of them don't know the true nature of the princess.

While the princess walked around the halls surrounding the indoor garden, a viscous sight has been seen by her. Her eyes narrowed and she silently glared at the person, also known as _Chaeyoung_.

"Sana onee-chan please stay still."

"I can't, Chaengie, it's really uncomfortable." The princess saw Chaeyoung and Sana, who was a daughter of the family's head knight, sitting on the grass. Sana was doing some kind of French pose while Chaeyoung drew the stationary girl on a canvas. Mina rolled her eyes at the scene.

"Onee-chan, please stop twitching." Chaeyoung looked over from the canvas to see the blonde girl who was already trembling in discomfort with her French girl pose.

"I-I...Chaeng can we take a break?" Mina tried to snap her focus back to where she's supposed to head to. She started to walk again, but then she saw a wooden pencil case lying around the grass, with Chaeyoung's name engraved on it.

Mina smirked.

She picked up the unattended pencil case and she went on her way without the younger girl knowing.

"Chaeyoungie, can we please take a break?"

"Don't worry, onee-chan, I'm almost done I just need" Chaeyoung started to fumble on the grass behind her, searching for that one familiar thing. She became confused after she wasn't able to feel it lying on the grass.

"Wait..." Chaeyoung turned around to check the grassy area behind her, but the missing object wasn't on her sight.

"Where's my pencil case?" Chaeyoung got up and started to look around for it. Sana on the other hand, was alread struggling with her pose and she's on the verge of collapsing.

"Ch-Chaeng? Can we take a break?" Chaeyoung looked at the struggling older girl. She sighed after realizing that her pencil case is nowhere to be found.

"Alright onee-chan. You can take a break." Sana finally collapsed and gave out a sigh of relief. Chaeyoung continued to look around the garden in hopes of finding the missing pencil case.

"Hey, Chaengie, are you okay?" Chaeyoung looked at her onee-chan and she shook her head.

"My pencil case is missing."

"Maybe you left it back in the room?"

"But I just placed it here, behind me." Chaeyoung patted the space where she knew she left the pencil case.

"Maybe one of the guards took it or whatever?" Chaeyoung let out a frustrated sigh after failing to find the missing pencil case. She packed her things, grabbed her bag and she swung it over her shoulder.

"Let's just eat, onee-chan, I'll just try finding it again later if I truly misplaced it." Sana stood up from her spot enthusiastically.

"Okie, Chaengie!"

—————————

Only silence and the fresh cold air surrounded the room while Mina read her book on her table in peace. The room was engulfed with the scent of jasmines.

The picture was still on her peripheral vision. Mina cannot help but to feel total discomfort while she read. She finally gave in and she stared at the picture frame on the right shelf.

It was a picture of her and her mum when she was younger.

Mina had a sad smile on her face, remembering the times when she was with her mother.

Just by staring at the picture, she can already deeply reflect of so many past days. Days that became actual reasons why would she be genuinely happy, days that made her feel motivated to continue in life. Days when she was still with her mother.

But those days are over now.

Mina quickly looked away from the picture frame and she proceeded to read her book. But as she was about to, her door opened. A male servant entered her room.

"Princess, your majesty has requested to me to bring you to him at this moment." Mina stood up as soon as she heard him.

"At this moment?" The servant nodded.

"Yes, princess." Mina stood up and went outside the room with the servant by her side. They traveled around the palace in silence. Now they were getting closer to the emperor's room.

"What do you think would be the reason why he has summoned me?" Mina asked in curiosity. The servant shrugged.

"He only commanded me to summon you. But I believe that the coversation that you're going to have with the emperor is between you two only." Mina nodded. Her hands were becoming sweatier and at the same time colder, feeling the nerve wracking feeling because of the curiousity that's eating her.

_Is this it? The day I lose my liberty?_

"We are here, princess. I'll leave you now to talk with the emperor." The servant bowed and Mina reciprocated the bow. The servant left and the princess opened the door of the Emperor's room. They saw the emperor, her father, sitting at a high golden throne.

"Father. You wished to see me?" The elegant princess bowed down to the emperor dressed in gold robes. She knelt one knee right in front of him with her head hung low to show respect for him.

"I have. I wanted to make this conversation as urgent as possible since we're about to conduct this later tonight."

"What is about to happen, father?" Mina raised her head to look at her father.

"We will have a meeting with Mr. Byun tonight. He is a very powerful merchant from Korea and he's currently settling here in Edo. I wish to merge with his business to produce more income for the kingdom." _Why am I not surprised_. Mina sighed quietly after hearing her father's inner desire.

"This will happen tonight at our palace's main dining room. Please prepare and look well as much as possible. Do you have any more questions?" Mina shook her head.

"No father." The emperor nodded.

"Good. You may return to your room to have enough preparation for tonight's event. You are dismissed." Mina nodded and she proceeded to exit the room. She took another deep breath and she let out a sad sigh.

_When can I ever be truly happy again?_

—————————

"Where do we put these candles on the table this time, onee-chan?" Chaeyoung asked Sana while she pointed at the group of candle holders on the table.

"Hmm...let's put them in a circular pattern." They proceeded to fix the candle holders to the planned positions. They fixed up the fancy table cloth and they made sure that the fabric satin chairs were squeaky clean.

"Okay everyone, go back to kitchen! We all have something to talk about!" Everybody finished up with fixing the whole dining area and they went to the kitchen. They all grouped up inside.

"So guys, this is a _very_ crucial dinner actually, compared to the last dinners actually." The maid head, Jihyo loudly announced to the palace maids and servants.

"So basically, we need to be very organised when we work as much as possible. All I know is that this meeting and dinner the emperor will have is more related to the kingdom's new rulers and whatnot, so I totally think it's grand." Everyone in the kitchen started murmuring words.

"Wait so, we'll have a new emperor after that meeting?" Sana asked but the maid head shrugged.

"Not sure, but we have to served everyone at the dinner as organised as possible, to ya know, avoid what happened last year..." There was a dinner where the emperor met a group of scholars for his daughter's education. But that dinner became a mess because everyone was confused on who will serve the each of the scholars and who will cook the food. Oh, and Sana accidentally spilt wine on one of the scholar's clothes.

"So I decided to assign one maid and servant to each of the guests, to the emperor and to the princess." Everyone started murmuring once again. Then Jihyo tried to shut them up.

"Okay okay, shut up guys. So anyways, the person who would serve the emperor..."

"You look down, Chaeng. Is it because of the pencil case?" Sana looked down on the sad and gloomy girl who looked like she gave up on listening to the announcements of the maid leader. Chaeyoung nodded sadly.

"I mean, it sounds immature but, most of the things inside of it is kinda...sentimental to me y'know. My parents gave me that and all." The older maid nodded in understanding.

"It will be alright, Chaeng. It's just in the palace, we'll find it." Sana gave the younger girl a bright smile and Chaeyoung reciprocated it.

"Chaeyoung, you are assigned to serve the princess for the whole dinner." Chaeyoung's head snapped to Jihyo's direction.

"Wait what?! I will be that bitch Mina's personal servant-"

"Chaeyoung, watch your words _or I'll tell your mother-"_

"Okay okay fine, I'll do it." Chaeyoung irritatedly answered. Sana started giggling while Chaeyoung huffed angrily.

"What's wrong, Chaeng? You don't like the princess?"

"Oh not only dislike, _hate_. And we have some...chaotic history together, onee-chan."

"Like what?" Sana curiously asked. Chaeyoung raised her eyebrow at her.

"I don't even wanna-"

"Sana, you'll be serving the son of Mr. Byun." This time, Sana's head snapped to Jihyo's direction.

"What?! But I don't want to be a-"

"Minatozaki...-"

"Fine, I'll do it!" Sana huffed and Chaeyoung smirked at her.

"I guess we're all in this together, right Sana onee-chan?"

"Shut up!"

—————————

"You've become so pretty, your majesty."

"Mrs. Son, you can drop the formalities. You've been taking care of me for so long, you don't have to treat me as a princess when we're together." Mina's maid smiled at her while she fixed the princess' hair.

"I'm sorry, Mina. It's just, you've grown so much over the years. You've changed a lot as well. Well, except for the tense atmosphere between you and Chaeyoung though." The princess let out an angry groan.

"Ugh, I don't even want to be reminded of her. She's-"

"Stubborn, hard-headed and that she lacks manners?" Mina's maid, Mrs. Son retorted.

"...and she eats unappetisingly." Mina's maid started chuckling.

"Trust me, Mina, I've tolerated her for so long since I am her mother, but that girl has a kind heart. She's very caring, creative, and understanding. I guess she doesn't get to show it when you two interact." Mina let out a sigh.

"Let's...not talk about that _pain_ for now. I guess I've been feeling a little bit...uneasy about this dinner we're about to have." Mina's maid started to brush some of Mina's bangs for it to become perfectly straight.

"Why is that, princess?" Mina shrugged.

"I don't know...I'm at the age of 18 now, and I have a strong feeling that..." Mina trailed off. She started to feel more uneasy for every second that's passing.

"That what, princess?"

"That-"

"Your majesty, it's time for dinner." Mina's answer was cut off when a male servant entered the room. The princess nodded.

"I'll be there."

The dining area was beautifully set up. There were the twinkling lights coming from the chandeliers. The candles let out a beautiful glow while the table was covered with a golden satin sheet. Everything was fancy in the dining room. Everything was amazing.

_Everything was amazing, except the fact that Mina's bored to death._

"So your son, Baekhyun will take over your position?"

"Most likely, your majesty. He's at his proper age and I think he'll do good in the future."

Mina was surprised when she saw Mr. Byun with a strange teenage man trailing behind him, turns out that it was his son who he had brought to the palace. But Mina was unaware since her father didn't tell her.

She was also unaware that this dinner would be so boring that she started hitting her wine glass quietly with her fork.

"You're bored, aren't you?"

"What?" Mina stopped hitting her fork on the wine glass. Baekhyun smirked at her.

"You're bored. I am too. Who wants to listen to old people conversations anyways." Baekhyun lazily leaned on his chair with his arms crossed.

"I don't get why were here with them in the first place anyways. We have so many better things to do than to be in this dinner." Baekhyun complained.

"Well, I guess so we could...get to know each other better once your father's business merges with our kingdom." Mina said. Baekhyun snorted.

"Point taken." There was another dead and silent air between the two teens while their fathers conversed eagerly.

"I'm hungry." Baekhyun said out of nowhere.

"C'mon Chaeng, just serve her the food."

"But-"

"I know you want Mina to starve but please this is an important event and we can't embarrass ourselves again so go!" Jihyo shoved Chaeyoung out of the kitchen. The plates on Chaeyoung's tray were rattling because of the strong force. Chaeyoung muttered some words, probably cursing the maid leader out before walking to the fancy dining table.

"Your meal, _y-your majesty_." Chaeyoung's eyes twitched a bit once she said that. Mina shot her a look. The smaller girl placed the princess' meal right in front of her until her tray was empty.

" _T-Thank you_." Mina internally cringed after saying that while her cheeks started to hurt because of the forced smiles. Chaeyoung quickly returned to her post after that very awkward interaction.

"Chaeyoung, you did well." Jihyo gave Chaeyoung light pats while they watched Sana serve the son of the merchant.

"Your chicken, sir." The blonde Japanese placed the chicken right in front of him.

"Thanks." Sana left the table as soon as she served the young man. She returned to her post.

"Thank god, the food's here." Baekhyun started to dig in to the chicken hungrily, like he hasn't eaten for days. Mina just stared at him eating while she lazily forked her chicken repeatedly.

"Yeah, thank god." Mina sulked while she stabbed her tattered chicken repeatedly. _Can we be done with this already?_

"You'rf noft goingfp tuph eaft fthaft?" Baekhyun asked with a muffled voice because his mouth was stuffed with food. Mina was taken aback with the lack of manners this man has, but she just let it pass this time. _At least he's not faking anything._

"It's...stale. It needs more salt. Excuse me!" Mina raised her hand to call out for one of the table servants. Chaeyoung scoffed.

"What does she want now?" Chaeyoung cursed under her breath as she went over to the table.

"What do you want?"Chaeyoung spat. Mina gave her a menacing look.

" _I'll tell your mother._ " Mina mouthed to the younger girl.

" _Whatever_." Chaeyoung mouthed back.

"I need some salt please." Mina gave the younger girl a very forced smile. Chaeyoung fought back the urge to roll her eyes and to scoff at the princess.

She returned to her post to get the salt shaker and the pepper and she returned to the table to place the two on top of it.

"Here it is, your majesty." Chaeyoung lazily said.

"Thank you so much." Mina grinned at her creepily and forcefully. Chaeyoung shot her another look and she quickly left the table, not wanting to deal with the princess any longer than 1 minute.

Mina started to pour the salt all over her tattered chicken and she took a bite of it. Her face scrunched up after realizing that she put too much salt.

"Your daughter has grown to become very elegant, your majesty." Mina's head snapped to the older men's direction once her name was mentioned.

"Yes. She has reached the age of maturity. She has grown up to become very intelligent and wise."

"Will she be the one to inherit your kingdom, your majesty?" Mina became more invested in hearing the conversation. She turned her head again to her food, pretending that she wasn't listening.

"Yes, as soon as she marries your son, Mr. Byun." Baekhyun choked on his chicken while Mina dropped her fork on her plate, causing a loud clanking sound to be heard in the suddenly silent room.

Everyone in the room was shocked, even the maids and the servants. Chaeyoung had her eyes wide after hearing what the emperor has said. The two older men stopped their conversation after hearing the reactions of their son and daughter.

"WHAT?!" Baekhyun and Mina yelled at their fathers.

"You can't just...you can't just force me to marry him!" Mina stood up yelled at her father. Baekhyun was trying to calm her down by holding on to her arm.

"Mina, please understand that-"

"No!" Mina shrugged off Baekhyun's hand on her arm.

"No! I won't let you decide on who I want to marry and how I'd want to live my life! I won't let you do another thing that's related to money!"

"It's for our kingdom!" The emperor suddenly sat up from his seat, with his voice booming all over the room.

"It's for our kingdom, Mina! This is the only way for it to survive-"

"Is it for our kingdom or for your income?! I have sacrificed my whole childhood just to please you but this-this is the last straw! The kingdom doesn't even improve under your rule because you only care for yourself and nobody else!"

"Take that back you ungrateful bit-"

"Yeah! I am ungrateful! You were never a father to me because your busy taking all of the gold from everyone in this kingdom that you didn't even come to mother's funeral!" Mina's voice broke at the last word. Her tears were already falling down. Then when she realises that everyone's eyes were on her, she quickly ran away, leaving the dining room to dwell in silence.

"Mina!" The emperor called for his daughter, but she didn't come back. She ran and she ran until she left the palace

_and she didn't look back_.

—————————

"Remember you bastards, if you don't find my daughter until Saturday morning, I won't hesitate to guillotine you all! Is that clear?!" The emperor's voice boomed all over the camp

"Yes sir!"

"Go! Find my daughter!" The knights rode their horses, each going to separate directions, depending on the route assigned to them.

The princess had been lost for 7 hours, with no trace of her in the palace. She had ran away, to a place godjihyo knows what. The emperor commanded a search party to find the missing princess, who he had feared that she might be-

"Your majesty-"

"What?!" The emperor snapped at the head knight, who flinched back after hearing his loud voice.

"Don't you think that we should've given the knights some food, drinks and a compass while they are on search? They went on empty handed. They might die, starve or get lost while they-"

"You should be focusing more on boosting your manpower in the army for this search, General Kim." The emperor spat. The head knight was silent with the emperor's venomous and frustrated response.

—————————

"Where do you think she has gone, Chaeng?" Sana asked the smaller girl who had been using the binoculars for the past hour to find the missing princess.

"Anywhere, honestly. But I know Mina, she likes forest more than the city. And I know that she's smart enough to run to a less crowded place to avoid anyone recognising her than to hide in the kingdom town proper." Chaeyoung removed the binoculars and placed it on the table. The two girls leaned on the railing of the palace's lower balcony, looking over the dark forests of Edo.

"Chaeyoung." Chaeyoung and Sana turned around to see Chaeyoung's mother behind them, with tears streaming on her cheeks.

"Mom." Chaeyoung ran to her mom to hug and console her. She knows that her mother isn't taking the recent news very well.

"Mom, they'll find her. I'm sure." Chaeyoung gently rubbed her mother's back.

"Yeah, Mrs. Son, they're trying their best." Sans joined in to comfort the crying mother.

"Chaeng. Promise me one last thing." Chaeyoung pulled away from the hug.

"What is it, mom?"

"I know that you and Mina never got along while you two grew together, but promise me that once they find her, try to be more caring for her, to find the peace between you two, okay?" Chaeyoung's heart wrenched after hearing her mother's hopeless voice. Her heart wrenched after realising that her childhood enemy-or even acquaintance is now missing. She could be anywhere, she could be kidnapped or worse-

Something snapped in Chaeyoung, if this decision won't please the princess, might as well do it for her mother.

"Mom, I promise."

—————————

"Woah, wait a minute Chaeng! Don't you think that's-"

"A bit crazy? I know right. I know I despise Mina for the rest of my life but" Chaeyoung packed her shoulder bag with food, a water can, a compass, her map and other essentials to support her for the next days.

"But it's for my mom, okay? Look I'm a nice person and I care for my enemies no matter how resentful they are to me as well." Chaeyoung zipped her bag and she wore it on her shoulder. She fixed up her vest, her white long sleeves and her hat.

"Your mom doesn't know anything about this, so what should I tell her once she notices that you're gone?" Sana asked worriedly.

"Onee-chan, please tell her that I started to sell my artworks in the kingdom town proper to fund for Mina's search party." Chaeyoung walked to the exit of the maid's room. It was the door to the Edo forests.

"Well, Sana onee-chan, I'm going now. Take care of mom, okay? Take care of my sketches and my diary as well." Sana gave Chaeyoung a tight hug before she let go.

"You also take care you little tiny baka. Make sure to find princess Mina too." Chaeyoung smiled.

"I will, onee-chan." The door closed. The finally went on her way to the dark Edo forest that will take her to the unknown.

—————————

"You! You ugly 159 cm peasant! Bow down to me!" The princess yelled and she pointed at her subject.

"Ribbit." The frog replied. Mina let out a sad sigh. She sat down on a stray and dead log just right in front of the giant frog. Her legs were killing her after that long run she took.

"This peasant thing isn't fun without Chaeyoung to bully." She took another sad sigh before she looked up at the sky, seeing the bright warm afternoon sun mocking her for her sad and gloomy atmosphere.

"Why is everything like this? I didn't wish to become a princess of some dysfunctional kingdom." She huffed. Her tears started to fall on her cheek, with quiet sobs coming from her mouth.

Mina might've shown her strong side to her subjects. She might've acted very boastfully to others, or she might've been a spoiled brat to her maids, or she might've gave out a snobbish attitude to others.

" _Hey, penguin walk, can you please get off your bed so I can fix it?" The 14-year old Mina, who was invested in her book, just rolled her eyes at Chaeyoung, who started to get more fed up with the princess' attitude._

_"What if I don't want to?" Mina kicked off her bed sheets to make an even more chaotic mess on her bed. Chaeyoung's eyes started to twitch._

" _Look Mina, I'm trying my best to resist your attitude, but please-"_

_"Not unless you call me princess, then I would let you, peasant." Mina smirked at the younger girl who was already getting angrier at her._

_"No I won't! And I'm not a peasant!"_

_"You don't want mommy knowing about your behaviour around me, don't you?"_

Mina softly chuckled at the memory. She'd always show that stuck-up princess side of her to Chaeyoung, but ironically, she shows her true sad and gloomy side to Chaeyoung's mother, who truly cared for her after her true mother died.

"Maybe it's best that I should run away. Maybe escape this princess life, huh?" Mina asked the frog who only replied with a ribbit.

"You seem lucky, Mr. Frog. At least you're free to do whatever you want, without trying to please anyone."

"Ribbit." The frog hopped to some place else. Mina sighed once again, her only living companion left her, while she sat in the middle of the forest, all alone.

Then she started to hear some rustling from the bushes. She flinched, holding her knees tightly to her chest.

"W-Who's there?!" She asked, paranoid. She started to hear another and louder rustling from the bushes. She abruptly stood up. She was shaking and trembling while the rustling became louder and louder. Then she saw a huge paw coming from the bushes.

"AAAHH!" Mina let out a whistle scream before she quickly ran away from the oncoming giant mountain lion that's about eat her.

The bear chased her as she ran through the bushes. She was panting, adrenaline quickly rushing through her veins with fear that she'll become the mountain lion's next meal.

Suddenly, her skirt got caught on a huge branch which made her ankle twist and for her to trip. She felt an excruciating pain in her ankle.

This is it. She helplessly looked at the giant mountain lion that's closely approaching her. She trembled in fear while a tear fell on her cheek. She closed her eyes, anticipating death but it didn't happen.

"Dammit, I'm hella bloody now!" Mina opened her eyes to see the knight in shining armor who saved her from death. Turns out that...

"Hey Mina, it's been a few hours since I've seen you, huh?" Mina cannot believe it.

"Ch-Chaeyoung?!" Mina's eyes were so wide that it looked like it was about to pop out of her eye sockets.

Chaeyoung was there, with her tattered and worn long-sleeved shirt partnered with her brown leather vest splattered with some few drops of animal blood. She also wore a brown leather hat which made her look like robin hood. She held a bloody knife which killed the dead mountain lion that's slumped down on the ground.

Chaeyoung put her knife back to its sheath that's located on her belt. Chaeyoung got closer to her she bent down in front of her.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Chaeyoung tried to check on Mina but the princess flinched away from her.

"D-don't touch me!" Chaeyoung rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Mina, I'm trying to help-"

"I don't need your help!" Mina tried to stand up but she instantly yelps in pain because of her sprained ankle. Because of that she falls back down to the ground. Chaeyoung tried not to chuckle at the girl's clumsiness.

"Sure, you _totally_ don't need my help. You can't even stand up on your own. So c'mon." Chaeyoung placed her one arm on the princess' back and one arm on the back of her knees.

"H-hey!" Mina yelped once she felt the smaller girl pick her up and carry her bridal style.

"I said don't touch me!" Mina started hitting Chaeyoung's chest while she was being carried, but the younger girl ignored her protests.

"Hit me all you want but I'd rather not let you die in this forest all alone."

Chaeyoung carried the princess with ease, even if the princess continued to hit her chest, all the way to the safer part of the forest, nearby a small pond. The smaller girl gently placed the princess down on a smooth flat rock nearby the pond and Chaeyoung sat right in front of her. The smaller girl took some medical supplies from her bag.

"Give me your foot." Mina huffed and she narrowed her eyes at the smaller girl. Her arms were tightly crossed. Without any protest, she stretched her injured foot, Chaeyoung gently placed the foot on her lap.

The smaller girl pulled out a long leaf and she started wrapping it around Mina's ankle. The princess flinched in surprise.

"W-What's that?" Mina's eyes widened at the strange long leaf.

"This? It's a herbal plant that could soothe sprains and other stuff. Mom taught me how to treat wounds, sprains and cuts using herbal plants." Chaeyoung tightly wrapped the giant leaf around the princess' ankle.

"Wouldn't it cause me any allergies?" Mina curiously asked. Chaeyoung took some bandages and she tightly wrapped it all over the ankle.

"It won't. Your ankle will get better after a few hours." Chaeyoung finished wrapping the ankle.

"Keep your ankle elevated for the time being so it could get better quickly." Chaeyoung fixed up her medical supplies.

Mina blankly stared at the younger girl. She was baffled at how the girl came all this way to find her, to save her from a mountain lion, despite her getting all bloody, to even taking care of her sprained ankle. She suddenly felt guilty at how she treated Chaeyoung badly in the past.

_Wait why am I feeling this way?"_

"What's wrong, Mina? Seems like your soul left your body." Chaeyoung's mocking voice snapped the princess out of her thoughts.

"Chaeyoung..."

"Yeah? What is it?" Mina wanted to say that particular word but that word seemed to get stuck in her throat.

_Say it. Say it. Say it. Say it._

"Did my father send you to find me?" _DAMMIT!_ Mina mentally facepalmed after saying the wrong thing.

"No, he didn't. I brought myself here."

"But why?" Chaeyoung stared at her deeply. The two girls were engulfed in a completely silent atmosphere. This made Mina uncomfortable. Suddenly, there was a grumble coming from Mina's stomach, Chaeyoung let out a giggle.

"Sounds like someone's hungry." Mina playfully rolled her eyes. Chaeyoung stood up from her seat.

"Duh, I haven't eaten since yesterday." Chaeyoung grabbed her bag and she pulled out some homecooked food that she stole from the kitchen.

"Here, I stole some fish and some rice from the kitchen." Chaeyoung opened the bento. The smell of fish was released into the air. Mina's nose scrunched up.

"Ew, you're making me eat peasant food?" Chaeyoung's eyebrows furrowed. She gave the princess a look before she looked back down on the bento. She evenly divided the food on each side of the bento.

"What? Did you expect me to pack a whole gourmet for you? Be grateful that I'm feeding you even if I despise you."

"I'm not eating that." Mina spat. Chaeyoung looked up to face her.

"Mina, please this is the only time I'll be kind to you. So don't take my kindness for granted and eat-"

"I said I'm not eating that." The princess deadpanned. Chaeyoung's eyes twitched, not taking the princess' stubbornness any longer.

"Fine. Starve then." Chaeyoung stood up from her seat, taking the bento with her and she sat on a big stray log a meter away from where Mina is seated.

The princess let out a huff. Only a few seconds after, her stomach began to grumble again. Mina tried to ignore it, despite the excessive hunger that continued to bug her.

Her stomach grumbled a few more times, but she tries her best to ignore it.

_I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry._

She noticed Chaeyoung packing her bento up in her bag. She suddenly felt a wave of disappointment in her but she tries to ignore it as well.

"Are you done?" Chaeyoung nodded.

"Yeah. It tasted really _really_ good, Mina." The princess rolled her eyes at the smaller girl's exaggeration.

"You don't need to show off your peasant food, Chaeyoung. Now, help me up." Chaeyoung scoffed while she helped the girl up from the rock she was sitting on, holding on to her waist while the princess' arm wrapped tightly around her neck.

"I'll bring you back now, okay?" Mina's eyes widened in surprise while Chaeyoung pulled out a map from her bag.

"What? What-no!" Mina protested. Chaeyoung stopped.

"What do you mean? It's not safe here stupid! What did you think why I came all this way to find you?!" Chaeyoung argued.

"Baka what did you think the reason why I ran away? I don't even wanna go back to that place!" Mina spat back.

"Then where were you supposed to go when you ran away from the palace?" Chaeyoung questioned the princess who was taken aback for a bit.

"I-I-why do you care?! Why do you care so much that you wanted to bring me back to the palace?! Admit it to me Chaeyoung, father sent you to find me!" Chaeyoung was fuming.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT HE DIDN'T!"

The two girls continued to bicker but they didn't know that there were silent growls coming from the bushes.

"SHUT YOUR PEASANT MOUTH SON CHAEYOUNG!"

"THEN STOP BEING SUCH A BRAT MYOUI MINA!" A loud rustling sound was heard from behind them which made them flinch.

"W-What's that?!" Chaeyoung panicked. Then they heard more loud growls coming from the bushes.

"SHIT! RUN!" The two tried to run away but they cannot go any faster because of Mina's injury. There was a pack of mountain lions that are chasing them and the pack was catching up to them.

"FUCK! WE HAVE TO GO FASTER!" Chaeyoung yelled, increasing their speed but the more the princess was feeling more pain.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! We have to be careful!" Mina scolded the peasant, feeling the pain from her ankle as they ran away from the beasts that are chasing them. But all of their luck was gone when an another pack of mountain lions intercepted them right in front of them. Now they are surrounded by hungry beasts that will turn them into their dinner.

"NOW WHAT DO WE DO?!" Mina panicked. Chaeyoung looked down on her map and suddenly, she had an idea, a stupid one actually.

"Mina, can you get the matches inside my bag." The princess obeyed the peasant's request as she scrambled to find a matchbox. She gave it to the younger girl as she locked her arms on the latter's.

"Mina, hold the map."

"Wait what are you doing-"

"Just hold the damn map!" The princess quickly obeyed and the peasant struck the match then she set the map on fire. She quickly grabbed the corner of the map and she threw it on the ground. The map was on fire in seconds, creating a huge flame big enough to scare away the predators.

"C'mon!" The two proceeded to run away from the predators, successfully escaping that near-death experience. After running a for a long time, they assumed that they're in a safe distance from the predators, they stopped and sat down, heavily panting.

"That was close." Chaeyoung laid down on the grassy ground, heavily breathing. From where Chaeyoung laid, she noticed that the sky was becoming dark, meaning that it is already night time. She was in awe after seeing bright twinkling light bulbs in the dark sky.

"Mina, look." The princess' eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" Chaeyoung looked at her and she patted the space beside her, signaling her to lay beside her. Mina didn't want to, but she sat down next to the peasant anyways, with her arms propping her up.

"What is it?" Chaeyoung pointed to the sky above them. Mina looked up to see billions of stars above them, twinkling and they were positioned into groups and they were creating many shapes, lines and other weird forms and figures. Mina was also in awe.

"These are...constellations..."

"What?" Chaeyoung looked at the girl like she was speaking some other language.

"Constellations. See that one group of stars over there?" Mina pointed at a group of stars forming a horse like figure. Chaeyoung nodded after she saw the figure.

"If you connect those stars together, they'll form the constellation Pegasus. It's basically a horse with wings." Chaeyoung connected the glowing stars with her finger. Her eyes brightened up once she forms the figure.

"Woah! It does look like a horse with wings! How did you know that was possible?" Mina was amused with the childlike behaviour and curiousity that the other girl was showing her.

"I learned that from the scholars that taught me about science and what not. They tell me all about constellations. They even told me that these constellations help people to navigate directions, tell time or predict a persons fortunes." Chaeyoung gaped her in awe, staring at the many bright dots on glowing on the dark skies.

"I rarely see these constellations in the skies since father rarely lets me go outside, but seeing these constellations personally, really takes my breath away." The peasant stared at the princess. She was in awe at the intelligence possessed by the latter. She was enchanted so to speak, seeing this new side of her greatest enemy.

_Maybe she isn't so bad after all..._

"It's...amazing. I never knew that these things exist." The peasant whispered under her breath.

"It is. It's amazing how things work." The princess agreed.

_You're amazing._

—————————

Under this cold breeze in the forest, the princess had to find some source of warmth. She was shivering already, moving closer to the warm heat that's next to her, wrapping around her arms around that strange warm object to keep her cozy from the cold.

But then her eyes shot up when that strange warm thing suddenly moved.

"EEK!" She quickly retracted her arms away from Chaeyoung and she rapidly scooted away from her. She started to wipe her hands on her dress, clearly disgusted after she made an intimate contact with the girl.

"I-I can't believe this." The princess turned red, blushing because she was completely embarrassed. _H-how did I manage to sleep next to her?_

Mina was lucky that the other girl was still asleep even after she let out a shriek, being a deep sleeper she is.

Mina heard her stomach grumble. _No...not this time_.

Chaeyoung's bag, which was placed not so far away from the sleeping girl appeared in Mina's sight. Mina wanted to eat, she had thoughts of eating the food that the smaller girl brought. She tried fighting against the temptation, but the more she faught against it, the more closer she got to the bag.

_It's better than starving_. Mina opened the bag and took the bento. She was surprised to feel that there are leftovers inside the wooden box.

_I shouldn't but_... The princess gave in. She stealthily opened the box so the other girl won't hear. She was taken aback after seeing that Chaeyoung only ate half of the meal, leaving another half, assuming that Mina would gave in and eat it anyways, which she did.

Mina took the chopsticks, wiping it with toilet paper and she took a piece of fish. It's peasant food but I'm hungry and what choice do I have left? The piece of fish entered the elegant princess' mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise after tasting the delicious flavor of the fish, which made her get some more from the packed meal.

The princess ate continuously, not minding if the peasant who's currently near her is already stirring, starting to wake up.

Mina enjoyed eating her food, but it stopped being enjoyable once she chokes on her fish after seeing something that she dreaded the most.

"Hey hey!" Chaeyoung groggily giggled while she hit the princess' back hard to ease her coughing and her choking. The princess finally stopped choking and she looks at the peasant with wide eyes.

"Ch-Chaeyoung! I can explain!" Chaeyoung just gave Mina a smug smile.

"Princess Mina, an actual princess, eating peasant food? What happened to your "I'm not eating peasant food" agenda?" Mina quickly shook her head.

"I'm not eating it! I'm just checking if it's already spoiled or whatever." Mina tried to deny it but Chaeyoung wasn't convinced.

"It's obvious that you ate it, Mina. I could remember it clearly that I only ate the left side of the bento and I left the right side full. But" Chaeyoung pointed at the right side of the bento. "this right side of the bento is already eaten. And I can smell it through your breath."

Mina knew this was hard to deny now, now that she's already caught on act. The princess sighed, pushing the bento box towards the peasant.

"Take it. I'm not hungry anymore." Chaeyoung shook her head, shoving the bento box back to the latter.

"No, let's share instead. I know that you've been hungry since yesterday and I want you to eat to give you some energy at least." Mina just stared at the bento box, then back to Chaeyoung.

"Chaeyoung, you don't have to-"

"I insist." Before she could even hear the princess protest, Chaeyoung already scrambled through her bag to get a pair of chopsticks. She started digging in on the food, leaving the other girl no choice but to join her.

Mina actually enjoyed eating in the forest. With the humming birds and the relaxing view of swaying trees with leaves of different colours. Even if Chaeyoung eats unappetisingly in front of her, she's grateful enough to be somewhere outside those fancy palace walls.

They consumed almost all of the food, leaving only a single small piece of fish. The two locked eyes with each other, somehow they're doing a staring contest.

"Take it." The two simultaneously said. Chaeyoung pushed the piece of fish using her chopsticks towards Mina, but the princess only pushed it back to the peasant.

"No, have it, Chaeyoung. I've eaten the rest of it and I think I'm okay." Chaeyoung only shook her head and she pushed the piece of fish to Mina once again.

"No, you should have it. You haven't eaten since yesterday and I know how hungry you are just by hearing your wails for food while you sleep last night." _I DID THAT??_ Mina turned red in embarrassment. Nobody know that the princess constantly sleep talks at night. It's a secret she dreads for people to know.

"I-I...it doesn't matter just...take it!" Mina pushed the fish back to the peasant but Chaeyoung didn't take it.

"No you take it!" The fish was pushed.

"No take it!" The fish was pushed again.

"No you!"

"No! You!"

The two had a constant battle over a fish. The two kept pushing the fish with their chopsticks forward and backward, like some tennis game.

"Ugh! That's it!" Mina instantly snapped and she cut the piece of fish in half using her chopsticks. "Now we can both take it!"

Chaeyoung only stared at the divided fish, for an uncomfortable span of time. Mina started to feel uneasy, until Chaeyoung started laughing.

"Wh-why are you laughing?!" Mina anxiously asked, but the other girl continued to laugh.

"W-why are we like this?!" Chaeyoung managed to say even if she's already dying with laughter.

"Why do we always fight over small things, Mina?" Chaeyoung continued to laugh loudly. The other girl finally understood what Chaeyoung meant. She slowly started laughing as well.

"I-I don't know!" Mina giggled with Chaeyoung who was laughing very obnoxiously.

The two finished eating the last pieces of fish. They packed up the clean bento and they shared the can of fresh water. Now they're sitting under the fresh spring trees of the forest.

"So...Mina, where will we go now? Since you ran away without knowing where you should go..." Mina rolled her eyes.

"Says the one who burnt the map of the forest." The princess retorted.

"Well, you did say that you didn't want to go back, so what was the point of using a map back home when you don't even wanna go back right?" Chaeyoung logically explained.

"Well since I respect that you wanted to stay away from the palace, it's up to you now where we will go this time, since you ran away without knowing where to go at all." Mina scoffed.

"Ugh! Just-just..." The princess sighed.

"I only ran away because...I didn't want to face what was happening at the time..." Chaeyoung nodded in understanding, encouraging the girl to continue.

"I just...I was just so angry, so overwhelmed...I was just...disappointed..."

"At who? Your father?" Mina nodded.

"He...he would choose his own wealth over his daughter, that's what all he cares about that he didn't even know that mother died!" The princess' voice broke at the last two words. Tears started to fall down her cheek once again.

Chaeyoung thought it would be awkward to comfort the girl, but she held the latter's hand anyways, giving her a look of comfort.

"I...I just can't take this anymore. I ran away because I'm done with my lifestyle. I didn't even wish to be born in a royal family, to become a princess, to carry a big responsibility on my shoulders..." Chaeyoung wiped the princess' tears away. She urged Mina to continue to pour out her feelings.

"I know that you'll laugh at me once I'd admit this but...the only reason why I kept boasting my position and wealth to you is because I was just..." Mina was cut off with a sniffle.

"I was just in denial that maybe this royalty life wasn't as luxurious and easy as I thought it would be..." Chaeyoung's mouth gaped. She was baffled with how the elegant and prideful princess unraveled right in front of her. Her strong and regal behaviour broke down right in front of Chaeyoung, leaving only a soft hearted and an emotional Mina.

"Mina..."

"Yeah, you can laugh at me, you can tease me all you want with whatever I've said, I don't care anymore." Chaeyoung shook her head. Unexpectedly, she pulled the girl into a tight hug. Mina's eyes widened in surprise.

"W-what are you doing?!"

"I'm comforting you, stupid. Not that I pity you but because I completely understand why you're like this. I understand why you were so mean to me, and it's okay to feel that way, I'm okay with it." Chaeyoung's simple but genuine reply was enough to drive Mina into tears once again.

"B-but...I've been nothing but terrible to you! I've teased you, looked down on you! I had broken your teddy bear and I had stolen your pencil case-"

"Wait what-"

"I've called you a peasant, I've made your job harder for you! I've mocked you for your short height. I've done so many things but w-why are you still comforting me?"

"Because I finally get you now. I understand and I can forgive you for that." Chaeyoung pulled away for a bit to give Mina a reassuring stare. The princess pulled her in a tight hug again, clutching and weeping on Chaeyoung's shirt.

Mina still doesn't understand though.

How Chaeyoung, a peasant she mocked, a person she despised came all this way to save her from a near-death experience, took care of her injuries, fed her, stayed by her side all this time, and Chaeyoung easily forgave her for her faults.

She did all of this despite of their rocky past...or present? Mina didn't even know what to call their relationship at the moment. She's guilty, but she had to admit, she's grateful for the girl's presence. There's this one phrase that's she's itching to say but somehow it got stuck in her throat.

_Say it. Say it. Say it._

"Thank you." Only a horse, muffled and silent croak was heard. Chaeyoung slightly pulled away from the girl to hear her better.

"What?" Mina gulped.

"T-thank you, Chaeyoung, for everything." Chaeyoung can't believe what she's hearing. It's like she currently in a messed up dream. _Mina genuinely thanking and hugging me like this? This girl must be going crazy_. The peasant smirked.

"Princess Mina of Edo, thanking and hugging a girl she hated? No way!" Chaeyoung teased the girl to lighten the mood. Mina smacked her shoulder.

"Don't tease me, Son Chaeyoung. We were having a moment. Keep teasing me or else..." The peasant giggled.

"Don't worry, it's just weird that I'm hearing appreciative words coming from you. But honestly, I'm really willing to help you no matter what, Mina. So" Chaeyoung stood up from the grass.

"Where must we go now, dear princess?" Chaeyoung jokingly asked Mina while helped the girl stand up.

"Anywhere, with you."

—————————


	2. in love with this bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs for this chapter:  
> enchanted-taylor swift  
> tenerife sea-ed sheeran  
> kiss me-ed sheeran  
> i loved you-day6  
> you were beautiful-day6  
> once in a lifetime-one direction  
> beside you-5sos  
> Special note:if you have read my other one shot, The Penguin and The Baby, beware 👀

  
—————————  
"They've been gone for quite some time, huh?" The short general sat next to the blonde Japanese girl on a wooden bench. The Japanese girl gave her a hopeless frown. 

  
"They've been gone for 2 weeks, Dahyun! 2 weeks! Chaeyoung told me that she'll be back with her but so many days have passed and we're becoming hopeless already." A tear fell on Sana's cheek, completely devastated with the fact that her close friend had gone missing as well. 

  
Worry continued to consume her heart as a lot of worrisome thoughts and possibilities consumed her mind. She hasn't been sleeping well ever since the smaller girl left. She had been feeling this strong guilt when Chaeyoung's mother found out about her disappearance. Everything was just so hard on her.

  
"We're trying our best. But now we're losing knights because emperor is losing it completely. He's been sending a lot of them, in big groups. But I just don't understand how they still couldn't find them." Dahyun heard Sana's sigh of despair. The Japanese woman wiped her tear from her cheek. Dahyun rubbed the older girl's back to console her, before she pulled her into a soft, comforting hug.

  
"Don't worry. Maybe, there's still hope and all. There's this particular place where they haven't searched yet." Sana raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

  
"Really? Where?"

—————————

"Chaeyoungie..."

  
"Chaeyoung..."

  
"Chaeng!" The shorter girl's eyes slowly fluttered after her short and comfortable nap. The first thing she saw was a glimmer in a princess' eyes. She saw a girl looking down on her while the sun shone on her. She swore she thought she was in heaven and she was seeing an angel, but she remembered that she's still stuck in this hellish world.

  
Chaeyoung groaned, propping herself up from her laid down position and she leaned against the tree trunk. She rubbed her sleepy and groggy eyes as she looked at the girl right in front of her.

  
"How...how long was I asleep, Mina?" The older girl sat in front of her, cross legged. Mina showed her a soft smile.

  
"Thirty minutes at least. I wanted to wake you because Jeongyeon's getting pretty cranky lately, probably on her period. She wants us to harvest all of those crops down there." Mina pointed at the fields below the hill where Chaeyoung slept. 

  
Luckily for these two, Jeongyeon, who was a married farm lady, found them in the forest where they were starving, lost and homeless. At first, Jeongyeon really wanted to take the two younger girls in her home but her wife disagreed with her. But once the wife realized that Mina was a princess who ran away and wanted to hide, she accepted them into their home. The married couple vowed not to tell the authorities about their current whereabouts.

Now, the two girls had been living in the farm for two weeks. Since they owe the married couple for letting them live in their home, they wanted to pay their gratitude to them by working in their farm. 

  
They've also changed their appearances to hide their identities. The long hair that Chaeyoung and Mina had were now chopped off. The older girl had her hair reaching a few centimetres below her shoulder while the younger one had a boyish haircut.

  
"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Chaeyoung enthusiastically jumped up and she started running down the hill.

  
"Last one who gets to the fields will clean the pig pens!" Chaeyoung yelled playfully. Mina whined as she stood up and ran after the younger girl.

  
"Hey! No fair!" The two raced down to the fields. 

  
"You only won because you had a headstart, you jerk." Chaeyoung stuck out her tongue to gloat her victory in front of Mina, who pouted cutely.

  
"Or you were just too slow to catch up to me. Anyways" The two stared at the huge field full of ripened fruits and fully grown crops ready to harvest.

  
"So...we divide the area into two." The older girl spoke. The calm winds blew on their hairs as the strands swayed with it.

"I'll work on the fruit part of the field." Mina nodded at her. Chaeyoung started stroll her way to the fruit side of the field. Mina gazed at the younger girl while she harvested the fruits. She then realized the fact that she was so staring at Chaeyoung for such a long time so she started to do her task.

She started to harvest the fully grown vegetables and she placed them on the basket which she held onto tightly. She walked from point to point to harvest the grown vegetables she saw around the field.

Mina wasn't used to doing a lot of chores or any kind of work involving any physical interaction and strength. She was a princess after all, and she got used to having maids around her, doing all the work for her. Sure, she got tasks in the farm but they weren't as hard as harvesting, which really needed two people to do it.

"You okay in there?" Chaeyoung asked. Mina was panting a bit, she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her bucket wasn't even half filled and she already felt exhausted.

"Maybe, we could...take a break for a bit." Mina tiredly answered. Chaeyoung giggled as she gently put down her basket.

"Alrighty, lay down with me." Chaeyoung trudged her way throw the field until she arrived at a flat land covered in grass. She laid down and she patted a space next to her. The older girl laid beside her as they rested. The gentle breeze blew on their hair, gently grazing through their skin.

"I'm really happy, Chaeyoung." Chaeyoung faced the girl beside her as she listened to her. The older girl looked very relaxed and she had a soft smile on her face.

"I don't know why but I'm really glad that I ran away with you. It's kind of funny that we used to hate each other so much back then, but now I can't even stand alone without you. I feel so free here with you, so...relaxed. It's everything I ever wanted." Unconsciously, Mina's fingers trailed gently on Chaeyoung hand.

Chaeyoung smiled softly while they looked up at the blue sky. She remembers their wild past, how they would almost cut each other's throat or they'd end up destroying something the other girl owned. Things were really different back then.

But everything changed when the princess ran away and she decided to find her in the forest. She then found the girl in the forest, she took care of her and protected her, and eventually, they became close. Mina didn't want to go back, and of course, Chaeyoung with her whipped culture, she decided to follow the girl and be with her instead of bringing her back.

She suddenly remembered. _I promised_. She promised Sana that she'll come back, that she'll bring the princess back. But somehow, she was convinced in joining the princess with whatever adventures they go through, that she herself forgot her promise. 

_Crap, they must be so worried about me_. She thought about her friends and her mom who might be worried sick for her. She wants to go back to them but she can't leave the elegant girl beside her.

_Crap, what do I do?_

"I'm really happy too, Mina. But.." 

"Hmm?" The older girl gave Chaeyoung a questioning look.

"What about...them? What about the friends we left behind? I just...I enjoy this too but-"

"What about them?" She heard the cold tone of the girl right beside her. She turned to Mina and saw the cold and resentful colour in her eyes. 

"Mina, look...I like being with you but...you have to remember that they're still searching for us. You have to remember that a lot of people are worried about you-"

"Really, like who?" Chaeyoung was startled once she heard the Japanese girl coldly spat. She knew that she had already hit a nerve.

"Look, your father must've been very worried for you-"

"Nobody genuinely cares for me back home, not even that man I call father, and you should've known that by now. They'd only want to find me for the sake of the throne and for me to marry a man I don't even know. I don't care if they're worried about me."

"But Mina-" Chaeyoung gulped once she saw the girl beside her. Her eyes were angry and cold, like she was staring deep into Chaeyoung's soul.

"If you want to go back, then do it. Go ahead, at least you have people caring for you-" Chaeyoung panicked once she saw Mina standing up from where she laid. She stood up and she held onto the latter's wrist.

"No, Mina, listen-"

"Just-just admit it, Chaeyoung! You wanted me to warm up to you after all of this because the truth is you were sent by my father to bring me back, is that it?!" Chaeyoung's right eye twitched at what she was hearing.

"We've been together for 2 weeks, Mina and you still don't trust me?! I left my mom for you! I wanted to be with you no matter where we go because I genuinely understand and care for you, but you still paint me in that image after everything?!" Mina scowled as she forcefully pulled her hand away from Chaeyoung's grasp.

"Just-just leave me alone!" Mina quickly ran away from the field. Chaeyoung wanted to follow her, but she knew that they've already hit each other's last nerve. 

She sighed as she plopped down on the grass as she watched the older girl walk away from her. She wasn't really angry, she was just...hurt. _Yeah, exactly, hurt_. She felt a sting in her chest when the older girl accused her of something she truly didn't do. She felt like she still wasn't trusted after the many days they've spent together.

But she also didn't mean to strike a nerve in the girl's heart. She knew that the thought of the palace being brought into the conversation isn't something that Mina would be pleased to hear. 

She pulled her hair in frustration as she yelled in annoyance. The stared at the blue skies while the wind blew onto her short hair.

"UGH! WAEYO?!" 

Meanwhile, Mina angrily threw small stones on the small pond in the forest not so far from the farm. She came here whenever she felt stressed or tired.

"Who does she think she is?" She growled while she threw stones that don't skip whenever she tossed it.

She doesn't know why she's truly angry when the girl was right, some people might worry for them. But it triggered something in Mina which made her snap. 

She hates it whenever she's reminded of the things she left behind in the palace. It makes her feel so many complex yet destructive and regretful thoughts. These thoughts made her feel so conflicted and frustrated.

An angry tear fell down her cheek. She wiped the tear in frustration. She threw another stone on the pond once again, this time, the stone skipped successfully.

"Why can't I just leave things all behind?" She sighed in dejection.

—————————

"We'll set camp right here, everyone. After our lunch we'll divide ourselves into groups to search into different directions, alright? Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The young general nodded.

"You may go back to your tents to have your lunch. The maps will be given to you on this period. You are dismissed." The knights dispersed and they all went to different directions, settling back into their camps. Dahyun sighed in relief and she sat on a huge stone and ate her lunch.

"Hey, general Kim." Dahyun looked up to see a Japanese knight with another tall knight smiling at her.

"Hey Momo and Tzuyu." She greeted back. The two knights sat in front of her and they ate their lunch together.

"You look troubled there, Dubu. Pressured?" Tzuyu asked. Dahyun swallowed her fish. She gulped.

"Yeah. This is the last place which no knight had searched into. I just feel very nervous if we...if we don't see the princess around. The emperor will kill us or he'd have to force us to travel outside Edo, which would be...a lot of work." Momo snorted.

"Pffft, Dahyun's just pressured because she promised Sana something." 

"No, I didn't!" Dahyun quickly denied. But the truth is, Dahyun did promise Sana that she'll find Chaeyoung, _whoever she is_. The young general didn't actually know what Chaeyoung looked like but her close companion talked about her a lot so she knows a thing or two about the girl.

"Don't worry general, I memorized this place since I used to live here a lot so I know where are the houses located. The princess could be anywhere in there!" Tzuyu shared enthusiastically which was enough to give Dahyun a speck of hope.

"I'm really hoping for that."

—————————

"What happened to them? We've been watching them for five minutes and they keep on ignoring each other."

"Lover's quarrel, probably." The married couple watched the two silent girls sort their harvested fruits and vegetables. They went home an hour ago and they saw the two younger girls ignoring each other, which was odd to them. The two married women shared a concerned look with each other.

"Jeongyeon, what do we do?" Jeongyeon only shrugged as a response to her wife.

"I don't know, Nayeon...How about...we ask them if something actually happened?" The married couple face the two younger girls.

"Chaeyoung."

"Mina." 

The two younger girls looked at the married couple with blank stares. Nayeon nudged her wife and Jeongyeon furrowed her eyebrows at her. Jeongyeon cleared her throat.

"Are you guys okay? You guys usually don't..."

"Ignore each other." Nayeon finished her wife's question. Chaeyoung shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's...it's nothing..." Chaeyoung continued to do her tasks while Mina looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah. We're fine, onee-chan." Mina added while she continued sorting the fruits. The married couple shared another concerned look.

"They're totally not fine." Nayeon whispered to her wife.

"Something must've happened between them. We should fix it because I can't already handle their silent treatment to each other." Jeongyeon whispered back.

"Guys, Jeongyeon and I will be going back inside the house, okay?" The younger girl's replied with 'okays' before the couple returned home.

"Jeongyeon, what do we do? I don't want to see our babies mad at each other." The coconut haired wife grabbed her chin while she was thinking.

"What do we usually do to fix our arguments?" 

"Hmmm...well...we talk about it...calmly." Nayeon answered. She sat down on the seat by the dining table and she took a bite from an apple settling on the basket which was on top of the table.

"How about we set them a dinner by themselves? Maybe...they could talk about it and all." Jeongyeon suggested. Nayeon agreed while she munched on her apple.

"Yeapfh! Maybeefp theypfh coulf talk abouft ift!" Nayeon swallowed the apple. "Besides, they argue less violently than we do and maybe we could engage them in a civil conversation alone!" Jeongyeon enthusiastically nodded.

"Yeah that's a great idea!"

"Yeah! I know, I'm so amazing!"

—————————

Chaeyoung didn't know what she was drawing, but it all looked familiar to her. She drew a form, a face, a _constellation_ , something she learned from the person lingering in her mind.

She sighed. She truly felt free and happy here with her companions, but she still felt homesick. Her decision to stay was impulsive and spontaneous. She didn't expect that things like this will happen.

But still, she decided to stay. She wants to stay even if Mina told her to go. In any other life in this single universe, she'll always choose to stay.

"CHAEYOUNG, MINA IT'S TIME FOR DINNER!" Chaeyoung heard Nayeon's loud yelling from the dining area, snapping her out of her angsty thoughts. She set her paper and pencil aside and she left her room.

She suddenly stopped once she saw the older girl's door, realizing that Mina hasn't left her room yet, she probably didn't hear the call. With impulse, she went closer to the older's door and she knocked it.

"Um, hey, Mina, it's time for dinner." Chaeyoung muttered to the door. She didn't hear a response, making her frown. She then went down only to see two plates on the dining table. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You're not eating, onee-chan?" Chaeyoung saw the married couple all dressed. She figured that the two will leave them once again.

"Oh, Nayeon and I already ate. We'll just go to get some...uh..." Jeongyeon trailed off, completely confused. 

"Supplies and tools!" Nayeon gave Jeongyeon a glare. "We'll be back by midnight, take care of the farm you two." The married couple left in a haste. Chaeyoung heard footsteps from the stairs. She looked up to see the elegant girl staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Uh...hey. Nayeon and Jeongyeon left so..."

"Can we talk?"

The two munched on their meals. The whole room had a thick atmosphere and it was engulfed in silence. Chaeyoung avoided Mina's eyes, too scared to make eye contact. They stayed that way until they finished their meals and they fixed their plates. 

"Chaeyoung."

"Mina."

The two stared at each other after their simultaneous call for each other. Chaeyoung cleared her throat.

"I'll go first..." Chaeyoung gulped.

"I'm sorry. I should've not said that. I just...I felt really homesick, I missed my mom...a lot." Chaeyoung avoided the older's eyes once again, too afraid to see her expression.

"The truth is Mina... I looked for you for my mom. My mom loved you like a daughter and it hurts me to see her in agony, completely worrying for you. As crazy as it was, even if I hated you, I was willing to find you. And now I see why my mom cares for you so much. I didn't mean to force you to go back...to go back in that place which gave you so much torment." Chaeyoung felt brave and she locked eyes with the older girl, who listened to her.

"I'm sorry for making you...remember that place... I was being insensitive-"

"I should be the one apologizing, Chaeyoung." Mina looked down, avoiding the younger's eyes.

"I was being selfish. I didn't consider what you felt and I only thought about what I wanted..." she took a deep breath before she continued.

"I... I never told you this but...sometimes I feel like...like I regret running away. I thought it was just a selfish move from me. I know I wanted to be free because of my father's own selfishness but..." she took a sharp breath. Unconsciously, her fingers trailed on Chaeyoung's hand.

"I feel very conflicted and frustrated, because what if...I am being selfish too." Mina croaked out. She looked down, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes, rolling down on her soft cheeks.

Chaeyoung gently wiped the falling tears away from Mina's face. "Do you want to go there?" Confusion etched on the older girl's face.

"Where? The castle?" Chaeyoung shook her head.

"No. The lake, so you could relax." A sad smile formed on the older's lips. 

"Yeah...maybe..."

—————————

The married couple watched from afar, hiding behind the trees, panicking at the sight of the knights.

"They're looking for Mina, Jeongyeon." Nayeon panicked with worry laced in her voice.

"We should go back before they find out about the farmhouse." Jeongyeon said, earning a nod from her wife. The quickly sneaked their way out of the town without alerting any knights, returning to their home.

"Have you seen the princess around here?" Momo asked a villager who shook her head as a reply. 

"We didn't see the princess anywhere in this village, ma'am." Momo sighed as she walked over to the young general who was starting to look hopeless.

"They hadn't seen the princess, Dahyun, what do we do?" Dahyun sighed. She hopelessly stared at her map. They've looked around the different parts of this town but they still don't have any clues regarding the whereabouts of the two girls.

"I...I don't know anymore, Momo. This is the last place we'd have to look in Edo." They saw Tzuyu approaching them, confusion etched on her face as well.

"Have you guys found any clues about where the princess is?" The two knights sadly shook their heads. Tzuyu started to scratch her head.

"I don't get it, I swore that there are more places in this town where the princess could and should be."

"Um, knights." They heard a voice coming from a woman. They saw a villager approaching to them, they hoped that the woman had the answers to their questions.

"What is it, ma'am?" Dahyun asked.

"If I could remember correctly, I think there's a farmhouse in a forest from the north eastern part of the town. Maybe the princess is over there." The three knights shared a look, a speck of hope glimmering in their eyes. 

"Show us the way ma'am." Dahyun politely requested.

"With great pleasure. Follow me." The villager started making her way to the direction of where the farmhouse is.

—————————

The two made sure they locked the farmhouse completely to avoid intruders breaking in. They went to the lake where Mina was throwing some stones hours ago. They both sat down by the lake, Mina skipped some stones while Chaeyoung gazed at their surroundings.

"Wow, this place is...amazing." Chaeyoung gawked at the ethereal sight. The lake was beautifully illuminated by the full moon's shine. She gazed at the stars twinkling in the sky.

"Yeah, this place helps me think and relax." Mina tossed another stone. This time, the stone skipped nine steps before completely sinking into the water.

"Yay! I broke my record!" Mina joyfully exclaimed with a bright smile in her face. Chaeyoung stared at the other girl in admiration and in awe. She was also glad, seeing Mina enjoying herself, looking a lot more cute and pretty when she's happy. Suddenly, the older girl started to take off her shoes.

"W-woah Mina, what are you doing?!" Chaeyoung panicked as she watched the older girl started to undress quickly right in front of her.

"I want to take a dip. Join me." Chaeyoung gulped at the sight of the older girl already butt naked. Her cheeks stared to heat up.

"I-I...uh..." Chaeyoung was sweating profusely. She wasn't used to these kind of situation, especially with Mina. 

"Don't be nervous seeing me like this, we're both girls anyway, right?" Mina gave Chaeyoung a wink before she turned around ran to the lake to take a dip, submerging her body completely in the water.

"I...I don't know..."

"Don't worry, I won't look while you take off your clothes." Mina giggled and she covered her eyes with her hand. Chaeyoung blushed even more, her cheeks becoming dark red. She shyly took off her clothes. Once she was completely naked, she made her way to the lake and she took a submerged her body in the water. Her body was shivering as she felt the cold water touch her skin.

"Feels good, right?" Mina giggled while she swam around the lake. Chaeyoung was flustered while she submerged herself deeper, the water reaching her neck.

"Yeah. It does." Chaeyoung felt a very relaxing feeling. She felt the calm waves and the cold breeze caressing her skin.

"You know, this is even better than the baths I had back in the palace. It feels more...calming." Mina closed her eyes as she sunk her head underwater and she raised it back up. Her hair was dripping, leaving droplets on her bare shoulders. Chaeyoung gulped at the sight.

Mina had fair skin, so smooth that Chaeyoung wants to trail her hands on it. The older girl had perfect proportions all over, no flaw whatsoever.

_What am I thinking?!_

"The stars are so nice tonight, huh?" Mina asked, gazing at the stars above them. The older girl swam closer to Chaeyoung, sitting right in front of her. Chaeyoung cleared her throat.

"Yeah...what constellations do they form, Mina?" Chaeyoung tried to distract herself from the woman's appearance as she stared at the black sky.

"At this time, I'm not really sure." Mina giggled. Chaeyoung smiled at the giggling girl, staring at her in adoration.

"You know...when you taught me about constellations, I really thought that...you were amazing, despite of my hatred for you back then." Mina raised her eyebrow at the short haired girl.

"Oh really? Are you flirting with me, Son Chaeyoung?" The short haired girl turned red once again, her cheeks heating up.

"Wh-what-no! I'm just...complimenting you." Mina chuckled.

"Well, I found you amazing too, back then when we despised each other. When you saved me twice and you took care of me even if you didn't want to. You were...just...so...caring that I thought, maybe getting stuck in the forest with you isn't so bad." Chaeyoung grinned brightly. Her eyes getting more lost into the girl in front of her. She was completely giving in.

She bit her lip as she stared at the woman's skin drenched in cold water, bare, flawless and smooth, with kissable lips enticing her. Her elegant face illuminated by the moonlight.

Unconsciously, Chaeyoung started to lean in, completely giving in to her desire. Mina noticed this while she stared at the short haired girl with glazed eyes, but she didn't flinch. She didn't move away. Her eyes diverted to gaze at the younger's lips.

Chaeyoung trailed her right fingers on Mina's bare shoulders while she caressed the latter's cheek with her left hand, cupping it. The older girl shivered at the touch. She moved closer until they were only a few centimetres apart.

"Mina..." Chaeyoung whispered. 

"I..." She nervously whispered, her voice trembling.

"Say it, Chaeyoung." The elegant girl demanded in a soft voice. The short haired girl took a deep breath.

"I love you." She whispered with such adoration and desire. She moved even closer, closing the small gap between them. She was about to press her lips to the latter's lips but then-

"It's the princess!" Both girls jolted, their eyes widening in panic. They looked around to see a group of knights surrounding them. They knew that they couldn't run this time. They've found them. It's over for them.

"We're too late, Jeongyeon." Nayeon gasped at the scene happening right in front of them. The couple were hiding behind the trees, completely frozen in shock. They can't move to save the two girls who were completely surrounded.

"No..." Jeongyeon hopelessly muttered.

—————————

"Name?" Chaeyoung sighed. The girl was clad in clean and new clothes. She held her knees closer to her. She looked at the woman right in front of her in fear.

Chaeyoung hasn't seen Mina for hours. The princess had been brought back to the palace as soon as the knights had found them in the forest. They were mercilessly separated from each other in that incident. 

"S-Son Chaeyoung." Chaeyoung gulped. The young general raised her eyebrows, completely recognising the girl in front of her. The young general wrote down Chaeyoung's name on her record book.

"So you're Chaeyoung. Sana told me all about you." Chaeyoung's ears perked at the name.

"Sana?" Chaeyoung asked. Dahyun sat down on the tent floor right in front of Chaeyoung. She placed her record book down, right beside her. 

"Yeah. She and I are friends actually." _Sadly_. Dahyun fumbled with her fingers. She gave the younger girl a small smile.

"She's been missing you a lot. She was so worried about you since you had gone missing for 2 weeks already. She's so going to kill you once you come back." Dahyun chuckled. Chaeyoung bit her lip. She looked down, eyes only looking at her hands.

"Oh...I..." Chaeyoung didn't really know what to say. She truly felt guilty about leaving all of the people she loved behind. She felt guilty of breaking her promise to her mom and to her friend. 

"But don't worry, she'll smack you at first but she'll be crying in happiness because you came back." Dahyun gave Chaeyoung a reassuring smile, with her hand gently grasping Chaeyoung's to give her ease.

"Thanks, general Kim."

"Please, just call me Dahyun. Anyways, I brought you here in my tent because I needed to interrogate you about your majesty. Don't worry, you're not _completely_ in trouble, but it will depend on your answers to my following questions, so be honest when you answer." Chaeyoung gulped. Her hands were trembling. The young general grabbed her record book and she held her quill.

"So...how did you find the princess?" Dahyun questioned, now sternly looking at Chaeyoung in the eye. Chaeyoung took a breath before answering.

"I found her in the forest. I saved her from a mountain lion before it could kill her." Dahyun wrote down on her record book.

"And what happened after that?"

"I took care of her. I fed her, I cured her ankle and I saved her once again from another pack of wild mountain lions." Dahyun hummed, taking all of the information in.

"What were you doing before you found her? Were you strolling around the forest?" Chaeyoung shook her head.

"My intention at first was to find her and to bring her back to the palace. But..." Chaeyoung took a deep breath once again.

"The princess didn't want to go back. So...I...I decided to stay with her rather than to bring her back and we got stuck in the forest." Dahyun furrowed her eyebrows while she listened with interest and she wrote down on her record book simultaneously.

"Then we were found by a married couple and we lived in their farmhouse for two weeks." Chaeyoung finished explaining while her hands continued to tremble.

"Last name of the couple? Don't worry, we won't arrest them." Dahyun interrogated.

"The Yoo's." Chaeyoung answered. Dahyun hummed in response.

"Is that all?" The short haired girl nodded

"Yes." Dahyun finished writing in her record book before she closed it and she placed it down next to her.

"Listen, Chaeyoung. You're not in trouble okay. You can go home. You can return to your family. But I am very curious about something which I'm very sure you know the answers to it. And don't worry, this is only between you and me." Chaeyoung nodded anxiously. 

"Why didn't the princess want to go back and why did she run away? Why did you stay with her?" Chaeyoung composed herself. _This is going to be a long explanation._ She inhaled sharply before answering.

"Well, this is why, general Kim..."

—————————

"I said I didn't want to go back and get married to a man I just met. Can't you understand that?" Mina spat. Her father paced around her room.

"Why? So you could get together with that peasant girl?" Mina balled her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Don't call her that." Mina gritted her teeth. Her father, the emperor, gave her a death stare.

"What? It's true isn't it? She's just your servant. And the knights told me that they found you and that peasant girl together in a lake, naked-"

"Is that a problem?" The princess shot up from the bed where she sat on. Her father narrowed his eyes at her.

"She's a girl, Mina. You can't marry her, a poor peasant even-"

"Shut your fucking face!" The princess screamed. She then felt a strong slap hitting her face. She felt a painful sting on her cheek as she caressed it. She looked at her enraged father disbelief.

"You immoral brat! You...you've caused so much trouble in this kingdom, what would your mother say about your-"

"Don't you dare mention mother. If anything else, she would accept me for what I want and for who I am because she cares about me. Heck, even that girl you called a fucking peasant cares more about me than you do. You only care about yourself, that's why mother died-" she was cut off when her father forcefully grabbed her chin with a tight grasp, making her look up at him.

"You've done enough, you little brat. You will marry Mr. Byun's son and you won't leave this room until your wedding day and I will never let you see that peasant girl ever again, you understand?" The emperor shoved his daughter back to her bed. He left Mina's room in a haste and he slammed the door, locking it tightly. Mina started banging on her door.

"Let me out!" Mina yelled while she banged on the door. But she knows it's hopeless, she knows her father doesn't have the heart to let her out, to forgive her, to even love her. She eventually gave up begging to be freed. She slid down by the door, leaning on it.

She finally broke down after so many hours. Tears fell down on her cheek and soft sobs and sniffles came out of her mouth. She held her knees closer to her chest.

"Chaeyoung...save me..."

—————————

"CHAEYOUNG!" 

The two girls ran up to each other and they shared a long and tight hug. Tears were streaming down Sana's face while she held Chaeyoung so tight like she doesn't want to let go. Chaeyoung pulled away slightly and the Japanese girl started to hit Chaeyoung's chest with her fists.

"You-" she hit "left-" she hit "me" she hit "baka!"

"Hey, hey." Chaeyoung giggled at her friend while she rubbed her back to comfort her.

"I'm not going anywhere, onee-chan. I'm here now." Sana sobbed louder. Her tears were already drenching Chaeyoung's shirt.

"I missed you so much you baka! I had to explain to your mom why you went away. She was worried sick for two weeks-"

"Wait, where's mom?!" 

"Chaeyoung." Chaeyoung turned around to see her mother there, crying a lot of tears as well. 

"Mom!" Chaeyoung ran to her mother and they shared a long hug with each other, both didn't want to let go. Chaeyoung's tears started to fall, she missed her mother so much after so many days she was gone. Her mother missed her so much as well, with many days she didn't sleep, so worried about her missing daughter.

They pulled away. The mother stared at her daughter in awe and in disbelief. She felt like this moment was surreal to her.

"Chaeyoung...you're...here. You...cut your hair." Chaeyoung's mother ran her fingers through her daughter's short hair. The daughter giggled.

"Yeah, I did, mom." Soft sniffles came out of her mother. Chaeyoung gently wiped her mom's tears away.

"I thought I was about to lose you completely. I thought that...you'll never come back..." The daughter pulled her mother into a tight hug once again.

"I'm here mom. I'm home."

"Why did you leave, Chaeyoung?" Chaeyoung's mom, Sana and Chaeyoung were now together by the table. Chaeyoung and Sana shared a look before the younger girl answered.

"I...came to look for Mina to bring her back..." Chaeyoung narrated the summary of all of the things that happened between her and the princess. After she finished narrating what happened, the two other ladies reacted with an amused expression.

"I'm surprised. How did you two manage to not kill each other after being together for so long?" Sana asked. Chaeyoung chuckled.

"Actually...I..." Chaeyoung started to turn red. Sana and Chaeyoung's mom noticed the girl's sudden reaction. They shared a look once again before they faced the youngest girl.

"It's kinda funny but...we started to like each other...a lot...in those two weeks." Chaeyoung shyly looked down while she scratched her nape. Chaeyoung's sudden behaviour was odd to the two women.

"Eh!!! Really?!" Sana squeaked, with her eyes wide open. Chaeyoung's mother chuckled and she ruffled her daughter's short hair. 

"Oh, Chaeng. I'm glad that after so many years you and Mina finally got along. All that girl wanted was a friend and someone who cared for her." 

"That's also...the problem mom..." the mother frowned.

"What is the problem, Chaeyoung?" Chaeyoung gulped while she scratched her nape.

"I think I'm...I'm starting to like her more than a friend." Sana choked on air while Chaeyoung's mom looked at her in amusement. Her mom's expression turned serious all of a sudden, she held her daughter's hand in her own.

"Chaeng...you do know Mina's father and what he had done to her, right?" Chaeyoung bit her lip and she nodded. Her mother sighed before continuing.

"And you know how controlling he is over her and that she's royalty and she has big responsibilities to bestowed upon her ever since she was born, right?" Chaeyoung sadly nodded.

"Yeah. That's the problem, mom. She's going to get married to a man she doesn't even like for the sake of the kingdom. Before...I thought that maybe...we could try...but then we were found." The memories of last night flashed in front of Chaeyoung's eyes. She could remember the feeling of the princess' soft skin when she caressed it. She remembers the warmth and tension they felt when they were only centimeters apart.

She wished she savored the moment so much that she would never forget it, especially when things are different now. Things are back to normal, and to them, normal doesn't feel right.

"Chaeyoung..." Chaeyoung's mother and Sana rubbed her shoulders. Tears fell down on Chaeyoung's cheek. She then realised that this normal means that she'll only be a peasant to the princess, that she'll get married to a man no matter what. She realized that Mina will continue to live her days in torment once again, with no freedom which she truly wanted. 

She felt something break in her chest. No, she didn't want this normal, she wants things to change.

"I...love her mom. I care for her so much. I've seen her cry about her life as a princess so many times, I want her to feel free and happy." Soft sniffles came out of her mouth. Her mom wiped her tears and she cupped her daughter's face.

"Listen, Chaeyoung. As crazy as it sounds, I want you to set her free. I know that it would be hard with the circumstances we have now, but, I support you no matter what." 

"Yeah, Chaeng! Don't worry, I'm friends with the head knight, she could help you!" Sana cheered the crying girl up with an enthusiastic tone. Chaeyoung giggled.

"Thank you, mom, Sana onee-chan." Chaeyoung wiped her tears away. 

"So...how are we going to do it?" 

—————————

"So, are you in?" 

"I don't know...Sana...what if I lose my job?" The young general rubbed her shoulder. She would do anything for the blonde girl but she also wanted to sustain the position she earned for.   
She was also hesitant because even though she did have the power, she was guilty about overthrowing an emperor. She knew all the failures and the bad things the emperor had done not only to the princess, which was told by Chaeyoung but also to her family.

"You won't lose your job, Dahyunnie. Besides, you're the head knight after all, right?" Sana smiled at the girl. Dahyun's cheeks turned light pink. 

"Yeah...but...can you explain the plan again?" The young general requested. Sana cleared her throat.

"Chaeyoung will sneak Mina out of her marriage with Mr. Byun's son tomorrow. I don't know how but all I know is that they'll try to distract the emperor and the supposed husband while she sneaks her out."

"But what if they won't buy the distraction? What if the emperor or the supposed husband arrives earlier than us and we won't get him to stop from coming to the wedding? What if we have to do this whole search party once again?!"

"That's why you're in this plan, Dahyun. You're going to control your knights and revolt against the emperor." Dahyun scratched her cheek.

"I...still don't know, Sana..." All of a sudden, Sana cupped Dahyun's cheek, catching the young general off guard. The blonde girl looked at her in the eye, with their faces only an inch apart.

"Please, Dahyunnie...for me." Sana stared at her with pleading eyes. Dahyun really wanted to pass out and the ground to swallow her whole but that's not happening.

"Um..." the two girls jolted and they separated from each other after they heard someone clear their throat. They turned around to see a very tall man staring right at them.

"Uh, hi." The man waved at the two girls who were turning red in embarrassment. Dahyun was also dying inside, very saddened at the fact that that particular moment didn't escalate to anything.

"Don't worry, I'll pretend that I didn't see that. I heard your conversation and the plan about the princess' marraige so I wanted to join in."

"Name?" Dahyun sternly asked the tall man.

"Park Chanyeol. I'm Mr. Byun's personal guard."

"What makes you wanna join in our plan, Mr. Park?" Sana asked with suspicion. The tall man grinned at the two girls.

"I know something about Mr. Byun's son, and I could give you guys additional manpower for your plan." Sana and Dahyun shared a look. The young general shrugged.

"Okay, share it to us, Mr. Park."

—————————

_"Mom, look! I'm a ballewina!!" The young princess twirled around happily. Her mother chuckled while she wathed the young girl spin until she got tired. The little girl plopped o the grassy field._

  
_"Dizzy?" The mother asked. The child nodded, having difficulty with holding her head up._   
_It was a beautiful spring day. Flowers blossomed around the palace's garden. The spring breeze gently blew on them with the fresh smell of spring. The child and the mother decided to relax a bit in the garden._

_"Mom..." the mother saw the sad expression on her daughter's face._

_"What is it, Mina?" The child clung on to her concerned mother. The little princess' lips were quivering._

_"I haven't seen papa for such a long time, mom. He doesn't talk to me, he doesn't eat with and he doesn't play with me. Does he not love me anymore?" The little princess' voice trembled while tears were welling up in her eyes. Her mom cradled her gently._

_"Oh, sweetheart. Your dad is very busy and all since he's the emperor. He goes to a lot meetings. He does a lot of things for the sake of our kingdom."_

_"Will I be like that once I become an empewor too?" The little princess asked her mother who was a little bit in a difficulty with how she was about to explain her daughter's fate to her._

_Deep inside, the mother felt bad for her child who was born in a life where a throne and a huge responsibility was already bestowed upon her._

_She felt bad for her child who didn't grow up normally like the other kids, how her child had to learn so many things just to reach a specific standard._

_And last but not the least, she felt bad for her child who was born to a selfish father who wouldn't even care for his daughter._

_"Yeah, sweetheart. But you can be better." The mother cupped her daughter's chubby cheeks._

_"Listen, Mina, when you become the ruler of this kingdom, be kind and selfless. Care for your people not for yourself, okay?" The girl nodded._

_"Yes, mom." The mother stood up, pulling her child up._

_"Well them, let's get that ice cream that you wanted." The little princess nodded happily, with her eyes lighting up once she heard that particular comestible._

_"Okay, mom!" The child and the mother ran happily through the grassy spring fields with their hands holding tightly onto each other._

  
Mina sadly smiled at the distant memory, while the whole scene faded away. She was awoken from her dream once she heard a knock from her door. She groggily stood up from her bed. She saw the hatch on the door open up.

  
It's been four days since the princess was locked in her room, cutting her off from the outside world. She had to be fed using a hatch on her door. Today finally came, her wedding day came. She wasn't able to sleep properly for hours the whole night.

"Your majesty, it's time for breakfast." She grabbed the wooden tray handed to her through the hatch from her door. 

"Psst, your majesty, the breakfast and the note is made by yours truly." The servant whispered before closing the hatch. 

Mina stared at her wooden breakfast tray while she sat on the floor. So far she saw a fork, two sunny side up eggs drowning in ketchup, a glass of milk, an a note with bad handwriting. Mina held the note, opening it.

_Hey Mina._

_It's been a while, huh? I miss you._

_I heard what happened to you. I really wanna see you and sneak you out but your prick of a father banned me from serving you. So..._

_But I still have a lot of friends around who could hopefully deliver this note to you. I wanted to tell you that I'm planning something crazy to set you free._

_It's a surprise! I don't know if it'll work, but we've got a lot of things down already. I'm just hoping that your father doesn't have a lot of friends or noble cronies to stop us._

"Yeah, you're right, he doesn't." Mina snorted before she continued to read the note.

_I prepared this breakfast for you by the way. Of course to prepare for OUR wedding day, not your marraige to that...man, ugh._

_Anyways, I miss you so much. I hope you've been taking care of yourself. I couldn't sleep for so many days because I'm thinking about you. I'm so worried for you. I want to sneak you out_ _so badly now._

_Anyways, I'll see you soon, hopefully._

_-Chaengie_

Mina smiled at the note, with tears welling up in her eyes. She truly missed the smaller girl, thinking about her constantly in her sleep. She longed for the girl's care, warmth and love. She held the note closer to her.

"I miss you too."

—————————

"Are you ready?" The princess sadly nodded. She was clad in her wedding attire with her hair properly fixed. She was pampered well for this dreaded event.

"I'm ready." She croaked out. She was nervous, nervous about so many uncertainties for this moment. She wasn't sure if she was going to get married or not because of the hope brought by Chaeyoung's special note. She hasn't seen Baekhyun yet, and they haven't contacted even. She stood up, with her servants helping her up.

The whole carriage ride to the banquet hall was a complete wreck. Mina's hands fumbled and trembled, completely disturbed by the fact that she's seated beside her father and for some reason, her father had to bring five personal guards in the carriage. The atmosphere was tense. No one dared to speak.

The princess was not only nervous because of this. The uncertainty is way too frightening for the princess. So many thoughts raced around her head while she felt an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

"You will marry, Mr. Byun's son, understand? If you do something ridiculous later on, I won't hesitate to lock you up, this time, in a jail cell. Do you understand?" This time, Mina didn't speak back to her father. She silently nodded while she faced away from him, with her eyes gazing on the outside.

_Oh, Chaeyoung. I hope you won't deceive me._

They've finally arrived in the banquet hall. But something strange was happening outside the banquet hall where the procession must start. The emperor furrowed his eyebrows at the scene, he decided to check it out

"I'll be going there, don't you dare leave." He told his daughter before he motioned his guards to join him outside. The emperor left the carriage and he was greeted by a tall man, whom he recognised as the personal guard of Mr. Byun.

"Your majesty, very nice to see you."

"What's happening? What's with all of this?" The emperor sternly asked the personal guard.

"Mr. Byun is waiting for you for a meeting before the wedding starts. He asked me to call you, your majesty." Mr. Byun's personal guard explained.

"Alright, take me there." The emperor followed the personal guard who guided him as they made their way to the unsaid place.

"Did Chanyeol do it? Is the emperor gone, Tzuyu?" Sana whispered to the tall knight who was looking at the scene from the second floor balcony of the banquet hall using a pair of binoculars

"Yeah, they're going inside the banquet hall. I think it's safe now." Tzuyu removed the binoculars from her eyes. The two girls both gave a signal to Jihyo, who was on the ground and is the supervisor for the wedding. The girl below responded with a thumbs up.

"But where the hell is Chaeyoung? Shouldn't she be here already? Why is she taking so long?" Sana asked with worry laced in her voice. Tzuyu sadly shrugged.

"She told us that she'll be getting some friends-"

"Look!" Sana pointed at the six people who got down on the carraige one by one. Sana and Tzuyu shared a look, with their eyes widening in surprise once they saw Chaeyoung's appearance.

"Jungkook, what's going on? Why isn't the ceremony starting yet?" Mina asked her chauffeur who was also equally confused at the current situation.

"Not sure, your majesty." The chauffeur politely answered. They then saw a wedding supervisor approaching their carriage.

"Your majesty, the ceremony is ready. You may leave the carriage and join the procession." Jihyo told the princess who nodded. Mina got out of the carriage while she clutched on her wedding dress with sweating hands. She was also a bit confused where her father is.

"Where's my father?" She asked the supervisor while they made their way to the front of the banquet hall.

"He already made his way to the procession. He just left for the bathroom." Mina furrowed her eyebrows. She found it rather odd for her father to rudely leave the ceremony, _but then this is my father we're talking about and we all know he gives no fucks for anything._

"Your partner is waiting for you, your majesty." Jihyo smiled brightly and she gave the princess her bouquet of flowers. She guided Mina to the doors of the banquet hall. Her hands were shaking violently and she was catching short breaths. Her heart was thumping abnormally loud and quick as she marched her way into the banquet hall.

As she entered the banquet hall, she was greeted by the sound of the traditional wedding music and the sight of some people who worked for the kingdom. She saw the head knight. She saw her favorite maid, Mrs. Son and Chaeyoung's friends. But she saw one thing that truly surprised her, one person she couldn't look away to.

_Her._

The girl who she hated for so many years. The girl who she had a thousand arguments with for the earlier part of her life. The girl who saved her twice from death, who made her feel freedom, who made her feel what it feels to be _loved_. 

The girl who's waiting for her at the altar, clad in her oversized groom attire, with her high heeled shoes that made her slightly taller than Mina. With her face covered with a black hat, but even if she disguises herself in that way, Mina recognizes her dimples once she saw her smile. The princess was _enchanted_ at the sight as she got closer to her.

"Chaeyoung." The princess whispered. The woman disguised as her groom smiled wider, showing her dimples. 

"I'm here."

—————————

"Where are we going, Mr. Park?" The emperor asked firmly, with annoyance in his voice. They're been going in circles inside the backrooms of the banquet hall. 

"We're close, your majesty. It's just a little bit...far." Chanyeol was having difficulty with how he's going to distract the emperor. He saw a dark conference room. He thought that maybe he should lock the emperor in. But what he didn't notice was the guards trailing right behind them.

"We are here." Chanyeol said with a low voice. At this point, The emperor started to get suspicious. And then the emperor heard the loud wedding music playing. They both stopped walking, halting right at the entrance of the room. 

The emperor gave Chanyeol a death stare before he grabbed his neck and he slammed him to the wall with such great strength.

"You...you told me the Byuns were here. Then how come I hear wedding start then?" The emperor asked with venom in his voice. The tall guard gasped for air, completely shocked at the strength of the emperor while he was being choked by him.

"I...P-princess Mina w-won't m-marry B-Baekhyun-" The emperor tightened his hold on the tall guard's neck.

"Where. Are. The. Byuns?" The emperor gritted his teeth while the tall guard is having a hard time inhaling.

"H-he...h-he doesn't...want...to...marry her. H-he's not here." He croaked out, completely breathless. 

"You're part of this, aren't you? You all plotted this so my daughter would get together with that peasant, huh?" The guard struggled to breathe with the very tight grip on his neck that he's starting to turn paler.

"No...I-I...d-did t-this f-for...Mr. B-Byun's s-son." The emperor finally let his grip on his neck go, leaving Chanyeol to fall to the floor, catching his breath. The emperor called for his personal guards.

"Guards, beat him up. Make sure he doesn't get up after I stop the wedding." His loyal guards obeyed his orders. They started to beat the tall man while the fuming emperor left.

—————————

"Now, it's time for the exchange of vows." The pastor announced. 

"Shouldn't Chanyeol be back by now? He's taking way too long to distract the emperor." Sana asked Dahyun who was right beside her on the balcony. The young general shrugged, also clueless.

"I mean, he's trying to distract him, right?" Momo, who was with them, answered. All of a sudden, one of the knights approached the young general. 

"General Kim, we've found Mr. Park beaten up in the backrooms. The emperor's loyal guards are now fighting the knights." The three girl's eyes widened. 

"What?! Then, where's the emperor?!" The wedding was suddenly halted once the banquet hall's doors opened. The wedding guests gaped at the sight of the emperor, fuming in rage as he trudged through the halls.

"You." He pointed at Chaeyoung once he was just right in front of them. His eyes had so much resentment in them. Both girl's hearts raced, completely afraid. He snatched Chaeyoung's hat which hid her identity and he tossed it away. All of the guests gasped at the sudden revelation.

"It...it is you. You...you tainted my daughter, you filthy peasant." The emperor spat before he threw a punch on the girl. But his fist didn't collide with the girl's face. His punch was stopped when his daughter held tightly on his wrist.

"Don't. Father." Mina warned with a low voice. She shoved her father away, all of the guests gasped in shock, too scared to move as they let the scene unfold in front of them. The emperor chuckled darkly.

"You're getting together with your servant, Mina? Is that how low your standards now? And a female even-" Mina finally snapped. She slapped her father with all of the strength and resentment that remained in her heart for so many years. The emperor held on his cheek where the pain stung.

"How dare you do that to your father-"

"You're not my father, and you'll never be my father. Chaeyoung cared for me more than you ever did. I'd rather marry a peasant than live with a selfish prick like you." Mina sneered with such venom in her voice. 

With such impulse, Mina forcefully grabbed Chaeyoung by the neck, pulling her for a very passionate kiss. Chaeyoung was completely taken aback, her eyes widening before she closed it, getting into the heat of the moment. She held the girl close, savouring the taste of her lips as much as possible, too scared for the girl to be taken away from her 

They've been yearning for this moment for so long. Mina even surprised herself, the person she used to belittle and berate, the person who resisted her when nobody did, now owns her lips, her heart, and she owns Chaeyoung's as well. All of their unreleased feelings, the frustrations, the lust and the _love_ was let out. 

They pulled away breathless. Mina smirked at her father who stared at them in disgust. Everyone in the wedding were in shock(while at the balcony part of the banquet hall, Sana, Tzuyu, Momo, Jeongyeon, Nayeon and Chaeyoung's mom were cheering for them).

"You...you're not my daughter either. Guards, arrest them!" The emperor commanded, but the guards remained still. He glared at them, he looked like he was about to explode.

"Guards?! What are you all doing?! Arrest them!" He then saw General Kim getting down on the stairs and is approaching him with a stern expression. She stood in between the guards, just right in front of the emperor.

"We only take commands from Princess Mina." The young general declared. The princess had a bewildered expression on her face. She looked at Chaeyoung, who smiled and gave her an expression of encouragement.

"What?! I'm the emperor, you take commands from me-"

"General Kim, arrest him." Mina commanded with a low voice. The guards obeyed this time, holding on the emperor's arms tightly. 

"You...you can't-I'm the emperor!" The emperor struggled from the tight latch on him. Mina scoffed before she walked closer to the man she used to call father.

"Not anymore. Take him away!" The guards obeyed her command, dragging the man who used to be emperor outside of the banquet hall. Mina let out a relieved sigh, before she turned to her soon to be wife, smiling brightly at her. She made her way to face Chaeyoung and held her hands. She signaled the shookt pastor to continue. The pastor cleared his throat before proceeding the wedding.

"Princess Mina, do you take Chaeyoung as your wife?" The princess beamed as she stared lovingly into her soon to be wife's eyes. 

"I do."

"And Mrs. Son Chaeyoung, do you take Princess Mina of Edo as your wife." The peasant joyfully answered.

"I do." She looked at the princess with so much adoration in her eyes.

"You may now kiss the bride, again." The two kissed with so much passion and adoration. They held each other closely while they hear to cheers of joy from the guests. They sealed their lifelong vows, establishing their eternal bond.

—————————

Mina's eyes gently fluttered. The cold breeze hit her soft pale skin, even if it was covered by the white silk sheets of her bed.

Desperate for warmth, she wrapped her arms around a warm body next to her. She held tightly on the other body, closing her eyes once again and she nuzzled her head on the other body's bare neck. 

She flinched a bit after feeling the other body move to the other side, facing her. The other body also wrapped its arms around the girl's waist. The two cuddled, their legs tangled together.

"You're awake, aren't you?" Chaeyoung sleepily smiled at her wife who's still trying to continue her sleep. Mina hummed in response.

"Yeah." The elegant girl closed her eyes once again, trying to fall asleep in her wife's arms once again.

It's been a few days after their chaotic unplanned marriage. Until now, Mina's still confused about what and how things happened, but she promised to herself that she'll ask Chaeyoung about that. And then she snapped her eyes open once she remembered something.

"Hey Chaeng, wait a second." Mina released herself from her wife's arms and she obtained two things from under the bed. Chaeyoung watched her wife in curiousity until she got back up, holding a medium sized carboard box and the wooden pencilcase that Chaeyoung missed.

"Hey! Is that-" 

"Here." Her wife smiled at her while she handed the pencilcase.

"I took it while you were drawing when we used to...hate each other..." Mina scratched her nape. "I wanted to tease you..." the short haired girl giggled.

"It's alright. At least it's safe with you." Chaeyoung gave a soft laugh.

"Oh and, I have a gift for you. Here." Mina handed Chaeyoung the medium sized box she obtained from underneath the bed. Her wife looked at it curiously before opening it, revealing-

"MR. TEDDY!" Chaeyoung joyfully exclaimed while she held the teddy bear close to her. It was the exact same teddy bear which Mina decapitated years ago.

"I wanted to give it to you since I broke yours years ago..." Mina shyly explained while her cheeks turned light pink. Chaeyoung gazed at her wife before she handed the teddy bear to her.

"W-what?!" Mina was shookt.

"It's yours." Chaeyoung spoke but her wife shook her head and she gently pushed the teddy bear back to her wife.

"No, I bought that for you. I wanted you to have it." Chaeyoung started thinking suddenly, _I wanted her to have the bear but she wanted me to have it._

"How about...we..." Chaeyoung spoke as she placed the teddy bear in between them. Mina gave her a puzzled look.

"We both could have it. He could be...our son!" Mina started giggling at her wife's cute idea and she gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Chaeng." They heard the door creak open, revealing one of Mina's servants.

"Empress Mina, your breakfast is ready." Oh, and Mina's the new ruler of Edo now after she asked her father to be arrested. She automatically got the throne, she had her coronation few days after the wedding. Mina smiled to her wife.

"Breakfast in the garden?" 

"Mhmmm." They had their breakfast on the freshly bloomed garden. With the scent of spring hitting their noses while the suns bright rays illuminated their skins.

"Wow, you'rfhp right. This ispff befter thanfh pfeasanft foodfp." Chaeyoung cheerfully exclaimed with the food in her mouth muffling some of the words.

"Yeah...and you even forced me to eat some of it." Mina pouted, remembering the memory of them eating in the middle of the forest.

"But you liked it didn't you?" Chaeyoung gave her a smug smile.

"Hmmm...maybe...?" They both shared a laugh.

"Sometimes, I think about us getting married a lot, like...don't you think we got married too early? I mean, I haven't even asked you out to be my girlfriend yet and now you're my wife." Chaeyoung voiced out her thoughts and both girls giggled.

"Well, at least you can't break up with me anymore." Mina joked. "By the way, Chaeyoung, I keep on forgetting to ask you this. How did you...how did you...do that in the wedding?" Chaeyoung furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"You know...you pretending to be Baekhyun without anyone suspecting, you keeping my father away from the wedding and the whole army..." Chaeyoung chuckled.

"Well...supposedly I was going to sneak you out before the wedding with the help of Nayeon and Jeongyeon while the others distract Baekhyun and your dad. But then Sana and Dahyun met up with Chanyeol, Baekhyun's personal guard." Chaeyoung explained.

"Suprisingly, those two guys were a _couple_ actually, that's why Baekhyun didn't want to marry you. So he helped with the plan, he gave me his clothes. Nayeon, Jeongyeon and my mom helped me to make me look like him, I mean, I already got the hair down and all." Chaeyoung let out a chuckle while her wife ruffled her short hair.

"So while I pretended to be Baekhyun, Chanyeol tried to distract your father from interrupting the wedding, which kinda worked but it also...didn't? But the rest is history after your father interrupted our wedding." Mina nodded, looking very bamboozled.

"Oh, and with the army and all, Sana's friends-no actually, she's in a relationship with General Kim. So she convinced general Kim to join in the plan to overthrow your father." Chaeyoung added. Mina looked baffled at the newly gotten information. She took a deep breath, taking it all in.

"You okay in there?" Chaeyoung asked with concern laced in her voice after she saw her wife tearing up.The elegant girl trailed her fingers on her wife's hands which rested on top of the wooden table.

"I'm just...so glad..." Mina cupped her wife's cheek. Her diamond tears fell down.

"That I'm truly happy once again, because of you." Chaeyoung grinned, gazing at her wife with so much adoration.

"I'm happy too." The two newlyweds shared a very heartfelt kiss as they held hands, not wanting to let go.

_And they lived..._

  
"Happily ever after." The tiger cub happily closed the story book. She sighed in relief. She read this very long book for her little girlfriend for two hours.

"Yay!" The baby penguin clapped her hands happily. Chaeyoung laid down and tucked them in their queen sized bed, she turned off the desk lap beside them. She felt an arm hooking up to hers. She smiled at the sleepy penguin beside her.

"Thank you, Chaeyoung. I had so much fun today. Thanks for making me feel less anxious for tomorrow." Mina sleepily smiled at her girlfriend while the tiger cub ran her hands through her hair.

"Anything for you, Minari. I'm very proud of you and I believe that you'll do a good job in your recital tomorrow." Mina showed a sleepy gummy smile.

"Oh, and Chaengie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I be your princess forever?" The tiger cub chuckled at the little whose eyes were already droopy.

"Yeah, Minari. You'll always be my princess." The tiger cub kissed the baby penguin before she too fell asleep with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FinALLLY ITS OVER  
> If you have read the last scene, it's a nod to one of my one shots, The Penguin and The Baby Cub :]  
> follow me on twitter @fluffy-jeong

**Author's Note:**

> Hey pips it's been a while  
> I havent been updating or writing lately bc were v busy rn and we have an upcoming concert performance this tuesday
> 
> Ayyy fluffy author-nim will perform at the national theater!!!
> 
> Btw there'll be a second part for this I just had to cut it bc it's becoming too long lol
> 
> I'm halfway with jailbreak! chapter 6 so it'll be there soon dont worry
> 
> See you in the next update!!! UwU


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